1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a device for slidable devices such as sliding gates or sliding doors.
The invention furthermore relates to a displaceable element, in particular a sliding gate or a sliding door, with a device for moving the element.
2. Discussion of Background Information
In the outdoor area, for example, in garden areas or private car parks, sliding gates or sliding doors are increasingly replacing hinged gates or doors of a conventional type. Sliding gates or sliding doors have essential advantages compared to conventional gates or doors: on the one hand sliding gates or sliding doors can be opened to the side so that the space can also be used that would otherwise have to have been kept free as the swiveling range of a gate or of a door. On the other hand, sliding gates or sliding doors can usually be moved on rolling or sliding elements, which is why the actuation thereof is generally possible with comparatively low force, even in the case of heavy gates.
Several requirements are made of sliding gates or sliding doors, in particular those that are used in the outdoor area. A first criterion is that the slidable gates or doors should be embodied as far as possible to be self-supporting, that is without support rollers. Support rollers namely require a smooth and clean substrate. At the same time, the device necessary to move the gate should require the smallest possible space, so that the appearance of the gate per se is disturbed as little as possible. A second criterion is an ease of movement of the gate or of the door during opening, since the lowest possible expenditure of force should be necessary for an opening. In addition, a third criterion is that the gate or the door should be as stable as possible during opening/closing as well as in the extended (or closed) and in the retracted (or opened) state.
Sliding gates or sliding doors for the outdoor area often comprise mainly metal and are therefore heavy. In order nevertheless to be able to construct self-supporting sliding gates or sliding doors, the teaching of WO 2005/093199 A1 can be consulted. According to this document, a device for sliding gates became known, which has a central carrier with fixed rollers and with a runner rail with an S-shaped profile. A gate equipped with track rollers can be moved in the upper part of the runner rail at a speed v by means of a motor. In addition, the runner rail can be moved by means of the same motor at half speed v/2 via the fixed rollers of the carrier. This means that the sliding gate, independent of its position, is always supported in part by the runner rail supported in a displaceable manner, which permits a self-supporting embodiment.
With the variant presented above according to the prior art, however, it is a disadvantage that the rollers attached to the gate and the rollers of the carrier are respectively positioned above one another in one half of the S-shaped runner rail, thus a relatively high substructure is necessary. This means not only that the high esthetic requirements are not met, but also that the gate has an unsatisfactory stability during movement and in the opened or closed state.